On the go and no time to finish that story right now? Your News is the place for you to save content to read later from any device. Register with us and content you save will appear here so you can access them to read later.

Sprouts a growing problem

For all you lockdown potato hoarders: Are sprouting potatoes still good to eat? The sprouts themselves shouldn't be eaten, as they contain high concentrations of the toxins solanine and chaconine. Thesetoxins, called glycoalkaloids, can cause headaches, vomiting, and digestive issues when consumed in high quantities.

Dr. Rich Novy, a geneticist from the USDA Agricultural Research Service, told Best Food Facts that potatoes that have sprouted are fine to eat in most cases. The biggest chemical change that takes place when a potato sprouts is the conversion of starches to sugars to feed the growing buds. If a potato still feels firm after the sprouts have been removed, it has most of its nutrients and can be salvaged. But if it feels soft and wrinkly, it's gone bad and should be tossed out.

The Big Bang Theory

"I grew up on a farm in Tokoroa in the 40s and 50s where we used sodium chlorate to kill ragwort," writes Kevin West, of Forrest Hill. "My father told us about how explosive a mixture of sodium and sugar was by telling how he drilled a hole in a tree, added the mix with a fuse and the resulting blast felled the tree. To get our attention he related how a farm worker was tamping the mix in a drill hole when it exploded and killed him. One day when he was out we did a sodium and sugar mix, placed it on a newspaper, lit the paper and ran. A great flame erupted and we could keep it going by adding sugar. Don't think he ever found out."

Pandemic movie released in 2006

Photo / Supplied

Steve Horne, of Raglan, remembers about 12 years ago a pandemic movie was shot here. He played the governor of Montana, a non-speaking role. The movie was Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America which was released in the US in 2006, elsewhere it went straight to video ... The story line was described thus: "A highly contagious, rapidly killing haemorrhagic mutation of bird flu slaughters people in Hong Kong. Preventing its spread is virtually hopeless, as soon is proved in a US country village, which is strictly quarantined by the military. The White House prefers to 'prevent panic', even overrules zealous governor Mike Newsome and reneges on earlier emergency plans."